Behind the maps
Map & Data Sources
Every Stories Mapped artwork combines real flight information with geographic data and our own custom cartographic design.
We believe the detail behind the map matters, so this page explains the main sources used to create each piece.
Geographic data
Our maps use geographic data from Natural Earth, including coastlines, land areas, country boundaries and geographic features.
Natural Earth data is released into the public domain and is used as one of the foundations of our cartography.
Natural Earth →Terrain & elevation
Relief-style artwork uses elevation data from GMTED2010, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
This elevation data helps us create the terrain and shaded-relief detail used in selected map styles.
U.S. Geological Survey →Airport information
Airport names, codes and geographic reference data are derived from the OurAirports public-domain dataset.
OurAirports →Airline information
Airline names and their IATA and ICAO codes, used to help find your flight, are drawn in part from the OpenFlights airline database.
OpenFlights →Typography
Stories Mapped artwork uses Nunito Sans, an open-source typeface released under the SIL Open Font License.
It is used both across the Stories Mapped website and within the personalised text rendered into our printed artwork.
Nunito Sans →Flight paths
The route shown on each Stories Mapped artwork is based on historical flight data from Flightradar24 for the individual flight — not a generic line drawn between two airports.
Aircraft in flight broadcast information about their position and movement using technologies such as ADS-B. Networks of receivers, together with other flight-tracking sources, allow services such as Flightradar24 to build a record of the route an aircraft actually flew.
We use that historical flight track to recreate the journey on your map, including the turns and changes of course that made that particular flight unique.
Flightradar24 →Our artwork
The finished map is more than the underlying data.
Stories Mapped combines geographic information, flight data, typography, route styling, layout and personalisation into a custom piece of artwork created for each journey.
The final cartographic design, artwork composition and poster layout are created by Stories Mapped.
Why we share this
We want Stories Mapped to be transparent about what goes into each piece.
The geographic and flight data provide the foundation. The design, personalisation and story are what turn that data into something worth keeping.